The Alpecin rider made the difference just before the summit of the Poggio to lead a group of three riders by fifteen seconds, settled in a sprint by the Italian Filippo Ganna ahead of the Belgian Wout Van Aert and the Slovenian Tadej Pogacar.
This is the third victory for Van der Poel in a Monument after his successes in the Tour of Flanders in 2020 and 2022.
He became the first Dutchman to win in Sanremo since Hennie Kuiper in 1985.
The cyclocross world champion made the difference at the top of the last climb, the mythical Poggio, switching five seconds ahead of a royal chase group, composed of Pogacar, Ganna and his great rival Van Aert.
Impressive in his mastery in the downhill, the Dutchman, third last year, widened his advantage to have time to savor the last meters, taking the lead in his hands.
"I couldn't imagine a better scenario. I wanted to attack at the end of the Poggio. It's a race I really wanted to win. The way I did it exceeds my expectations," he said.
The first Frenchman of this 114th edition, run in good weather, was, as in the last two years, the rider of the TotalEnergies Anthony Turgis, 9th.
As usual, the longest race of the year (294 km) came alive in the last five kilometers.
Previously, the long descent to the Riviera, traditionally rather boring, was marked by several racing incidents such as the fall without gravity, at the back of the peloton, of Julian Alaphilippe, on the Turchino.
Tadej Pogacar fell, according to RAI, even before the official kick-off, given for the first time in the large suburbs of Milan, in Abbiategrasso. There also without damage for the Slovenian, glithetic glimpse at the real start, while a fan dusted off his left shoulder with a respectful gesture of the hand, while others begged for a selfie, closer to the action.
Dutchman Mathieu van der Poel wins the Milan-Sanremo classic, March 18, 2023 © Marco BERTORELLO / AFP
As for the morning breakaway, with eight riders, it was resumed in the Cipressa, 27 km from the finish, after having sailed for a long time in the lead with about three minutes ahead of the pack.
© 2023 AFP